Modeling and simulation of three phasevariable inductance BLDC motor driven thruster for under water applications

This paper presents a dynamic simulation model development for a Brushless DC (BLDC) motor driven thruster system for submersibles. A model for the BLDC motor is attempted which includes the effect of inductance variation with rotor position. The modeling effort is validated by comparing the results with those of the physical thruster system by experiments. Differences in performance estimation with a constant inductance model and variable inductance model are brought out through simulation studies. The model could be further used in variable inductance based sensor less controller developments and for multi-thruster submersible applications.